Isle of the Sapphire Flyers
by JulyIsland
Summary: One day, Hiccup stumbles upon a mysterious stranger with only one desperate request: help her save her homeland. Now, the gang must once again ban together to face an all new threat, traveling across treacherous seas and dangerous skies with a girl shrouded in mystery as their guide. It just begs the question: What lies in store for them when they reach their destination?


Chapter 1: Hiccup's Accidental Discovery

It was a clear sunny day on the island of Berk. Thanks to the previous week's thunderstorms, almost everything was covered in a graceful layer of dew. The birds chirped, the bees buzzed, and (of course) the dragons purred peacefully as the long-awaited sunshine spread across their scales. One black dragon in particular (a Night Fury to be exact) was especially enjoying the day's warmth as he lay sprawled on his back in a patch of soft grass, his obsidian black underbelly absorbing the heat that lingered in the air. His eyes were reduced to thin green slits as he let out a soft growling sigh of complete bliss. It was almost as if nothing could go wrong today. Almost.

"All right, bud. Ready for a little flying today?"

The Night Fury raised his head lazily only to see his rider, Hiccup, walking up the grassy hill toward him. He rolled his eyes and slumped onto his side, making sure his back was facing Hiccup. "Oh, come on, Toothless. A little lap around the island isn't gonna kill you," Hiccup said as he crossed his arms and stared at the dragon's back.

Toothless snorted irritably as if to say he thought otherwise.

"Toothless," Hiccup sighed in an exasperated tone. He walked over to his dragon and tried to push his back. "Come on you lazy sack of scales," he huffed as he tried to move Toothless even an inch. "You've been cooped up in the house for a week now thanks to the storms. You need to get at least a little exercise." He gave another hefty shove. Toothless didn't budge.

Hiccup got up and brushed off his hands. His stubborn dragon wasn't going to give in easily. Suddenly, an idea struck him. "Okay, you win," he said as he raised his hands in surrender and started to slowly walk away. "It's too bad, really. I was hoping to go fishing after the flight and maybe even find a nice field of Dragon Nip to lie around in." He dared sneak a peak at Toothless whose ears had perked up in interest. "But since you've made it so perfectly clear that you don't want to go, I guess I'll just find something else to do." Hiccup turned his back and kept walking. Three, two, one...

BAM! Hiccup fell face first onto the ground as a huge force collided with him. He rolled over on his back to find Toothless's face inches above his, green eyes glittering with excitement. "Now that's more like it," Hiccup exclaimed between laughs as Toothless began licking him joyfully.

* * *

"Wow, the weather really is perfect today, huh bud?" Hiccup called through the wind as he and Toothless made their way toward the forest.  
Toothless grunted his agreement. His features took on a look of concentration and concern. He seemed to have detected something.

"Hey, Toothless. You okay th-" Hiccup was cut off as an earsplitting roar ruptured the quiet calm in the air. Toothless's pupils turned to slits as both he and Hiccup dived into the forest's borders. They landed neatly between a few pines, and Hiccup jumped off his saddle almost immediately. He gasped as he took in the sight before him.

From directly behind him to directly in front of him, there was wreckage everywhere. Branches and whole trunks had been splintered and broken. Some were even smoldering and smoking. Heaps and heaps of dirt were scattered all over the place, but that wasn't the worst of it. A very deep straight ditch cut through the earth and stretched in both directions as far as Hiccup could see. This scene looked awfully familiar. A memory flashed in Hiccup's mind of a similar trail he had found in this very forest, which had led him straight to Toothless. There was no doubt about it. A dragon had crashed-landed here.

Hiccup followed the ditch cautiously, making sure that neither he nor Toothless made too much noise. As they walked farther along, they found more signs of a crash. There were blue-green feathers scattered all along the ground. Wait, feathers? Hiccup picked up a couple and examined them. Dragons usually had scales, right? What would feathers be doing here? He thought about it. If it wasn't a dragon than it had to be something at least as big as one. Nothing smaller could have made a path of destruction of this caliber. He kept following the trail. It wasn't long before he started seeing blood spattered feathers. Whatever this thing was, it was definitely hurt.

They kept going for a good ten minutes until Toothless abruptly stopped. His head was high in the air as he sniffed furiously, catching the same scent that had been lingering on the feathers. His snout almost immediately dropped to the ground as he began to follow an invisible trail, Hiccup jogging after him. It wasn't long before the two broke out into a clearing. Toothless whipped his tail in front of Hiccup defensively as he began to growl. Hiccup was about to ask what was wrong when he followed Toothless's gaze and felt his jaw drop.

At the other end of the clearing, lying down with every single feather puffed out in defensive anger as it growled and snapped, lay the strangest dragon Hiccup had ever seen. The beast was covered in shimmering blue and green feathers in every shade imaginable. It had a specifically large amount around the base and top of the head, which, at the moment, were stuck up in all directions, making the dragon look both twice its size and like it was wearing a very fluffy collar/headdress. Similar to a bird, its feet were pink, featherless, and a little on the wrinkly side. Its three-toed talons, however, were the color of bronze and wicked sharp. Its tail, which was thumping and twitching wildly with anger, was covered in sleek feathers like the body, except for the long feather formation that formed a fan-like shape at its tip. It had four legs and two large birdlike wings. Not very reptilian at all. The thing that caught Hiccup's attention the most, though, was the dragon's face. It had piercing orange eyes filled with anger, and its feathery snout extended a good six inches before ending in a large sharp bronze beak. Hiccup could see sharp teeth lining its mouth passed the beak.

The dragon hissed and snarled at Toothless who gladly returned the favor. "Whoa, whoa. Toothless, calm down. Look, it's injured, see?" Hiccup pointed to a bleeding gash on the creature's left wing. "But it's being pretty aggressive, regardless. What I can't understand is why it's lying down. I mean, usually a dragon, or any animal for that matter, would at least go into a defensive crouch or flee, depending on the situation. So why is it just sitting there? Unless..." It dawned on him. Hiccup looked at the dragon with newfound understanding. "It's protecting something," he finished.

Hiccup tried to walk forward but was stopped by Toothless's tail. He eyed Hiccup uncertainly, not sure if it was really a good idea to let him go further or not. "Come on, Toothless. I've got a hunch that this thing isn't as mean as it looks. Trust me." Hiccup looked at him with pleading eyes. Toothless looked him straight in the eye. He still looked doubtful but lowered his tail anyway. Hiccup advanced slowly on the other dragon who eyed him not with hostility but great suspicion. What was this human up to? What did he want? Those orange eyes followed him on every step.

It didn't take long for Hiccup to reach the other end of the clearing. He was only inches away from both the dragon's beak and talons. He slowly held up a hand, squeezing his eyes shut just in case. He waited, letting the cold wind blow through his fingers. Then, without really realizing it, soft feathers brushed against his palm. Hiccup opened his eyes to see large orange ones staring back at him. He gave the birdish beast a soft pet on the muzzle. "Don't worry," he murmured softly, "we're here to help." A soft purr eminated from deep in its throat. It looked at Hiccup with a sudden pleading urgency. Hiccup looked back with fresh confusion. The dragon lifted up its injured wing, and Hiccup sucked in a breath of surprise.

Lying against the creature's furry stomach was a pale unconscious girl with hazelnut hair and a heavily bleeding wound one her side. Hiccup stared wide-eyed and only muttered two words.

"Oh boy."


End file.
